Chiwerengero cha anthu a ku Africa kuno ndi osiyana kwambiri m'zinenero, chikhalidwe-chuma ndi chikhalidwe. Zinenero za anthu aku Africa zitha kugawidwa m'magulu otsatirawa: 1) Semitic-Hamitic; 2) magulu angapo a zilankhulo omwe amakhala kumadzulo kwa Sahara mpaka kumapeto kwa mtsinje wa Nile ndipo m'mbuyomu adatchedwa gulu la "Sudanese"; ntchito zaposachedwa za akatswiri a zilankhulo zakhazikitsa kuti zilankhulo izi siziwonetsa kuyandikana kwambiri, ndipo zina zili pafupi ndi zilankhulo za Bantu; 3) Bantu kumwera kwa kontinenti; 4) kagulu kakang'ono ka Khoi-san ku South Africa; 5) anthu okhala pachilumba cha Madagascar, omwe chilankhulo chawo ndi cha gulu la Malayo-Polynesian; 6) Atsamunda a ku Ulaya ndi mbadwa zawo.